"Mace! I made scrambled eggs! They're on the stove. See you later!" Tex hollered.
"Thanks," I called from the shower. "Have a good day!"
I knew Tex probably hadn't even heard me as he rushed out the door to get to the Saunders' farm by 6 AM. Mr. Saunders had been so pleased with his work that he had already given Tex a raise.
Life had settled into a good routine. My brother and I ate dinner together every night. Sometimes April would join us. Tex was dating Katherine McCreevy and most Wednesday and Sunday nights she'd eat with us too. She was a smart, friendly, pretty girl. She loved horses as much as Tex, so they often spent part of Sunday riding at her farm or the Saunders' place.
Coach Taylor made Tex full-fledged member of the track team. I enjoyed watching my brother run. He was fast as a cheetah and won most of the races he ran. His specialties were the 100 m dash and 200 m dash. He had been in The State paper once, and Pop called to say he'd seen it. Tex was over the moon after getting that call, which made me want to punch our father right in his stupid nose.
However, later Tex surprised me by saying, "Mace, Pop isn't coming home again."
"Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"
"Well, he told me what his plans for the future are. He's going to be in Texas to pick…I forgot what. He said that would keep him busy most of the year. He never said anything about coming home."
"Does that really surprise you?" I asked, trying hard not to sound sarcastic.
After a long minute, he shrugged and said, "Nah, I guess not really." He didn't seem angry or even sad, just accepting of this revelation. Sometimes, I really wished I was more like Tex.
Tex was walking toward the house just as I pulled up the drive. I honked and he waved, waiting for me to walk with him.
"Hey, old man! How was your day?"
"Well, baby brother, it was fine. What about yours?"
"The Saunders' baby is talkin'. Well, that's what they say. I don't want to tell them, but I don't think its gibber-gabber means anything. Yesterday, it called me, 'Dada.' I said, 'Shoot, I ain't your daddy.'"
I laughed and tousled his hair. "You might not want to call the baby 'it' in front of the Saunders. He has a name, you know. Kevin. Just call him Kevin." I opened the door and led us inside.
"I don't like babies. They squirm too much and aren't even housebroken."
I looked to the ceiling and pretended to pray, "Thank you, Lord, that the boy doesn't like babies. Please keep it that way."
Tex smiled and kicked my leg playfully.
"What are we having for supper?"
"Free food," I smiled. "When have you ever been picky?"
"Never. Just wonderin'."
"I haven't gotten that far yet. Got anything in mind?"
"Fried chicken?"
"I'll see what we got. You go finish your homework. And wash up. You smell like a barn. Throw your clothes in the wash, please."
"Yes, Mom."
"Ok, liver and Brussels sprout it is!"
Tex made fake puking sounds and I laughed. After he showered, he sat at the kitchen table working on his homework. He quizzed me about things in history that he thought were interesting, and then read me a passage from Old Man and the Sea. Once he got to math, though, the room was quiet. I fried chicken legs and thighs, overcooking everything. At least Tex wouldn't care.
As we ate, I told my brother about my day. He liked hearing about my classes and, especially, about my lunch with April. Not long after she and I started dating, I told Tex that I was really serious about her, maybe would even marry her. After I told him, Tex elatedly jumped around the house shouting 'woo–hoo' until I told him to can it and sit down.
"Dinner," I announced. "Get your math off the table, please." I doled out two drumsticks and two thighs to Tex and the same to me. We still had six pieces left. Lunch for him. Then I served the corn and salad. Tex ate applesauce with every meal. So he poured some onto his plate and offered it to me, though I never accepted.
"Mace, I've been doing really good, haven't I?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I've not been in trouble. Mr. Saunders is happy with my work. Coach says I'm one of his best runners, and I haven't been smart with him. Plus my grades are good."
"All true. …So what do you want?" I leaned back, pretending to be suspicious.
He chuckled. "So…um…could Johnny and I go camping this weekend? I've already arranged it with Mr. Saunders. I got Ken Johnson to cover Saturday and Sunday."
"You mean be gone the whole weekend?"
"Yes."
"Where do you want to go?" I asked.
"Keystone State Park. It's only 45 minutes away. We'd be back Sunday afternoon. He's driving and we'd like to leave after school. What do you say, Mace? Please say yes," he talked so quickly that he had to take a deep breath after he finished.
"Geez, Tex, you'd think I keep you under lock and key. Well, Rapunzel, it's your lucky day. That's fine with me."
Then a thought occurred to me, "Hey, you don't have a track meet on Saturday?"
"Nope. Rare weekend of freedom," he smiled.
"Great. Y'all have fun then."
"Thanks. We will."